Michael James Grier (born January 5, 1975) is an American former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

winger and current

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

of the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...

in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). He played for the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

, and

. Primarily a checking forward, he played 1,060 games over 14 seasons. He was the first African-American NHL player to train exclusively in the United States, and the league's first black general manager.

Early years

Grier's father

Bobby Bobby or Bobbie may refer to: People * Bobby (given name), a list of names * Bobby (actress), from Bangladesh * Bobby (rapper) (born 1995), from South Korea * Bobby (screenwriter) (born 1983), Indian screenwriter * Bobby, old slang for a constabl ...

was the associate director of Pro Scouting for the Houston Texans of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). Prior to that, Bobby Grier was a running backs coach, director of pro scouting, and vice-president of player personnel for the New England Patriots of the NFL. (The elder Grier should not be confused with the Bobby Grier who broke the

color barrier Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crime against humanity under the Statute of the Internati ...

in the

1956 Sugar Bowl The 1956 Sugar Bowl featured the 7th ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, and the 11th ranked Pittsburgh Panthers. The game was played on January 2, since New Year's Day was a Sunday. Much controversy preceded the 1956 Sugar Bowl. Segregationists a ...

.) Grier's brother

Chris Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, Christine, and Christos. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common. People with the given name *Chris Abani (born 1966), Nige ...

currently serves as the general manager for the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

, a position he has held since 2016. Another notable athlete in the family is

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

NFL defensive lineman Roosevelt "Rosey" Grier. Grier was raised in

Holliston, Massachusetts Holliston is a New England town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States in the Greater Boston area. The population was 14,996 at the 2020 census. It is located in MetroWest, a Massachusetts region that is west of Boston. Holliston is t ...

, where he attended and played hockey at St. Sebastian's School. He is of Barbadian descent.

Playing career

Grier was originally drafted by the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

in the ninth round (219th overall) of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft, and was considered a long-shot to make an NHL team. He spent his early playing days with

Saint Sebastian's School Saint Sebastian's School is an independent, all-boys Catholic secondary school located in Needham, Massachusetts on . The school instructs young men in grades seven through twelve. Founded in 1941 by William Cardinal O'Connell, Archbishop of Bo ...

and later with

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...

, culminating in his best amateur season in 1994–95, where he was named a first team all-star. During his time at BU, Grier's NHL rights were dealt to the

along with star

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

Curtis Joseph Curtis Shayne Joseph (né Munro; born April 29, 1967) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former professional player. Nicknamed "Cujo", Joseph was immediately recognizable on the ice for his masks featuring a snarling dog, drawing inspiration fro ...

in exchange for a pair of first round picks. After leaving college, Grier immediately cracked the Oilers lineup as a checking-line right-winger, scoring 32 points and bearing a respectable +7 plus-minus rating. During his time in Edmonton, Grier was best known for provoking

Chris Simon Christopher J. Simon (born January 30, 1972) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger, who played 20 seasons of ice hockey: 15 seasons in the NHL and 5 seasons in the Kontinental Hockey League. He last played for Metallurg No ...

of the

in 1997. Grier allegedly made derogatory comments about Simon's Ojibwa heritage, and Simon allegedly responded with a racial slur directed at Grier, and struck him in the head with his stick. Although the spoken words were never confirmed, Simon was suspended three games as a result of using his stick to hit Grier. Grier played six seasons with the Oilers organization, including two in which he scored twenty goals. On October 2, 2002, in order to free up roster space, Grier was traded to the

for a pair of draft choices. Incidentally, this put Grier and Simon on the same team for a short time. Simon was traded to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

after playing 10 games in the 2002–03 season. The Capitals attempted to put a Stanley Cup-caliber team together, primarily built around star forward

Jaromír Jágr Jaromír Jágr (; born 15 February 1972) is a Czech professional ice hockey right winger for and the owner of Rytíři Kladno of the Czech Extraliga (ELH). He previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguin ...

and goaltender

Olaf Kölzig Olaf Kölzig (born 6 April 1970) is a South African-born German former professional ice hockey goaltender and current goaltender coach and player development coach for the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL). With the excepti ...

. The team disappointed on the ice, although Grier remained a reliable checking player. This did not last long, as Washington traded Grier on March 4, 2004, to the

for Czech prospect

Jakub Klepiš Jakub Klepiš (born June 5, 1984) is a Czech professional ice hockey player currently playing for BK Mladá Boleslav of the Czech Extraliga (EHL). Playing career Klepiš was drafted in the first round, 16th overall by the Ottawa Senators in the ...

. Grier finished the season with Buffalo, scoring nine points, but the Sabres failed to make the playoffs. During the

2005–06 NHL season The 2005–06 NHL season was the 89th season of operation (88th season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). This season succeeded the 2004–05 season which had all of its scheduled games canceled due to a labor dispute with the Natio ...

, Grier set a personal record, scoring four game-winning goals for the Sabres and contributing to their run to the 2006 Eastern Conference Finals. Grier was then signed to a free agent deal by the

, where he recorded 16 goals, including three shorthanded, in his first season with San Jose. He scored nine and 10 goals in his next two seasons with the Sharks, respectively. On August 10, 2009, Grier returned to the Buffalo Sabres as a free agent. Grier's biggest contribution to the Sharks and Sabres was his penalty-killing ability. San Jose ranked 14th, 1st, and 4th in penalty killing in the three years he played there. In the 2009–10 season, Buffalo was second overall in the NHL in penalty killing. He was in the top penalty-killing units of both teams. Grier played his 1,000th NHL game on November 3, 2010, against the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

, becoming the 254th player in NHL history to reach the milestone. After not being re-signed by Buffalo for the 2011–12 season, Grier announced his retirement from the NHL on December 1, 2011.

Post-playing career

Early roles After retiring, Grier served as a scout with the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

and an assistant coach with the New Jersey Devils before he was hired by the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

as hockey operations advisor on May 19, 2021. Grier also coached at

, where he played his high school hockey. He also coached his son's Boston Jr. Terriers 03 AAA team. San Jose Sharks general manager (2022–present) On July 5, 2022, Grier became the general manager of the

. This move made him the first Black general manager in NHL history.

Awards and honors

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grier, Mike 1975 births Living people African-American ice hockey players American men's ice hockey right wingers American people of Barbadian descent Boston University Terriers men's ice hockey players Buffalo Sabres players Chicago Blackhawks scouts Edmonton Oilers players Ice hockey players from Massachusetts Ice hockey coaches from Michigan NCAA men's ice hockey national champions New Jersey Devils coaches People from Holliston, Massachusetts San Jose Sharks players Sportspeople from Detroit Sportspeople from Middlesex County, Massachusetts St. Louis Blues draft picks Washington Capitals players San Jose Sharks executives AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople Ice hockey coaches from Massachusetts Ice hockey players from Detroit